Country music legend Dolly Parton has been married to her beloved husband Carl Dean for an impressive 54 years, yet the couple never had children together. Now, Parton is speaking out to reveal why the pair decided that having kids was not the right decision for them.

“I didn’t have children because I believed that God didn’t mean for me to have kids so everybody’s kids could be mine, so I could do things like Imagination Library because if I hadn’t had the freedom to work, I wouldn’t have done all the things I’ve done,” Parton, 74, said in an interview with Oprah Winfrey. “I wouldn’t be in a position to do all of the things I’m doing now.”

Imagination Library was created by Parton, and it provides books for free to children from birth to the age of 5 in communities throughout the U.S., Canada, United Kingdom, Australia and the Republic of Ireland.

Fox News reported that Parton believes that not having children actually helped her career in music.

“Since I had no kids, and my husband was pretty independent, I had freedom,” she said. “So I think a big part of my whole success is the fact that I was free to work.”

When Winfrey asked if the “sacrifices” she’s made in life outweigh the successes of her career, Parton responded, “I’ve made sacrifices, but I think, like I said, I believe what I know I’m supposed to do.”

In a recent interview with Entertainment Tonight, Parton revealed that Dean loves to stay out of the spotlight so much that rumors have swirled over the years that he doesn’t even exist!

“A lot of people have thought that through the years, because he does not want to be in the spotlight at all,” explained the 74 year-old icon. “It’s just not who he is. He’s like, a quiet, reserved person and he figured if he ever got out there in that, he’d never get a minute’s peace and he’s right about that.”

“I’ve always respected and appreciated that in him and I’ve always tried to keep him out of the limelight as much as I can,” Parton continued. “He said, ‘I didn’t choose this world, I chose you, and you chose that world. But we can keep our lives separate and together.’ And we do and we have. We’ve been together 56 years, married 54.”

This piece originally appeared in UpliftingToday.com and is used by permission.

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